Josep Viñas i Díaz (Barcelona, 27 September 1823 – 2 September 1888) was a Catalan guitarist, composer, music teacher and conductor.
He began his musical training at the choir school of the Basilica de la Mercè in Barcelona, and expanded his studies to include piano, violin, singing and guitar. He devoted himself especially to the guitar, which he learned with the renowned teacher and instrumentalist Bonaventura Bassols, and excelled as a guitarist and composer. In his youth, he went on several concert tours throughout Europe and gained fame as a virtuoso, especially for his interpretations of works by Dionisio Aguado and Josep Brocà. In Barcelona, he performed in a duo with Josep Ferrer. [2]
He later devoted himself to conducting: he conducted the music chapel of Barcelona Cathedral for seventeen years (1841-1858), the orchestra of the Teatre Principal in Barcelona in performances of various zarzuelas, and was musical director of the Teatro de los Campos Elíseos in Madrid and the Teatro Principal in Zaragoza. He also devoted himself to teaching singing and guitar. His wife was Carolina Donatutti y Donatutti,[3] daughter of the musician Pietro Donatutti, an orchestra conductor who had led the Liceu orchestra in 1839-1840, and the soprano Antonieta Aguiló. Josep Viñas died in his native Barcelona.
As a composer, he wrote educational works for guitar and piano for his students, as well as more sophisticated pieces for his friends in Barcelona society.